October 30, 2008
By Jackie Saffir/Daily News correspondent
GHS
WALTHAM —
The struggles of Iraqi refugees displaced by war and sectarian violence will hit close to home Monday during a screening of a new documentary.
Award-winning director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy will present her film, “Iraq: The Lost Generation,” at the Landmark Embassy Cinema on Pine Street.
Obaid-Chinoy, a graduate of Smith College and native of Pakistan, has received several international honors, including an Overseas Press Club Award and American Women in Radio and Film Award.
Her documentaries cover a wide range of issues and places, including Pakistan, Afghanistan and Indonesia. She hopes that this film will allow Americans to see stories she says are not covered by the mainstream press.
“‘The Lost Generation’ came about because, for a long time, I had been hearing about what had been happening in Iraq, but rarely did I get a picture of who the Iraqis were,” she said. “I always thought Iraqis were just numbers I read about in headlines. But who were the people behind those numbers? What were their lives like? What were their families like?”
In addition to trying to answer these questions, Obaid-Chinoy said her film will allow viewers to see a part of the world many Americans have never seen before.
The event is sponsored by Primary Source, a Watertown nonprofit with the goal of improving students’ understanding of the world by educating their teachers.
Julie Newport, the Primary Source director of communications, says the event was planned to “connect the general public with stories about world history and culture that are not told very often.” She hopes that this will give the community the opportunity to talk to someone who has been to that part of the world and met Iraqi refugees.
Following the film, Primary Source will be hosting a reception at Solea on Moody Street, to allow for casual discussion over tapas and sangria and provide an opportunity to meet the director.
Obaid-Chinoy hopes viewers will see that Iraqis are not different than Americans.
“I would like people to see Iraqis as people with families and lives that are similar to ours,” she said. “I’d like to humanize their problems.
“Iraqis are just like you and I, but the war has torn the social fabric of that society. It will impact a young generation that may never recover.”
The event will be held Monday, Nov. 3, 6:30 p.m., at Landmark Embassy Cinema of Waltham. The movie is 50 minutes. Tickets cost $15 for the film and $40 for the film and reception and must be purchased in advance online at http://primarysource.kintera.org/iraqfilm.
October 29, 2008
metrobostonnews.com
Smith grad’s documentary on Iraq focuses on the ordinary people affected by war
INTERVIEW. A native of Pakistan and a graduate of Smith College, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is an award-winning journalist who has made 13 documentary films. Her latest film, “Iraq: The Lost Generation,” examines the plight of Iraqi refugees displaced due to war. She will screen the film Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Waltham’s Embassy Cinemas.
What message do you want to deliver with this film?
I want people to see Iraqis as people, not just numbers behind headlines. Usually when people in this part of the world think of Iraq they think about the headlines but they never get to know who the people are.
How much of a crisis is the situation surrounding Iraqi refugees?
We’re talking about 4 million people who have been driven from their homes. This is a country that had a functioning society. It had a middle class, schools, colleges, universities, doctors and lawyers despite the politics of Saddam Hussein. And the social fabric of the country has absolutely been torn. These are educated people who don’t know how to survive in war because they’ve never had to face that reality before.
Is there a common thread in the people you have profiled worldwide that transcends the distance between them?
My films are not about the government or prime ministers or presidents. They’re about what happens to the people of a country when a government makes a certain policy or when war is forced upon them. That’s what binds them, whether I am in Canada filming the Aboriginal community or in Syria filming Iraqi refugees. Ordinary people very often don’t get the chance to tell their stories. I myself have learned so much from their resiliency and their courage. I think the world should get the same chance.
Tony Lee
October 27, 2008
thequestforit.com
On a recent Saturday evening West Chelsea’s Gana Art Gallery hosted a most powerful documentary on the plight of children in Iraq. Entitled Iraq The Lost Generation, the event is to benefit the non-profit Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders. Journalist Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s The Lost Generation, currently being screened across the country from New York to San Francisco, is a riveting look at the results of war on the citizens of Iraq and in particular its children. Many casualties are children who are victims of bombings, instances with machetes and the like. The event which was sponsored by Zyr Vodka, Jo Malone, and Vai Restaurant was hosted by Justin Parks, Founder of the SCOTT PARKS ORGANIZATION, who came across the film this past summer and was drawn to share the film with others “In August I attended a screening at the New School. I was shocked and deeply saddened by the Iraqi refugee medial crisis, in particular the children that have been injured in the bombings that have to wait for reconstructive treatments. I felt compelled to sponsor a benefit screening so we could send funds to accelerate the heroic efforts of MSF.”
The Film
Beginning with the stories of Iraqi refugees *** who migrated to Syria and Jordan, Ms. Obaid Chinoy provides a first-hand account of their struggles. Ms. Obaid-Chinoy speaks first with adults–mostly middle class families whose head of households are much like those in the US. One man owns a mobile phone store, another a father of five owns several barber shops, and yet another holds a government position working with the US and the British as a translator. In each instance there is a current inability to work as they are now all refugees in new lands.
The erosion of Iraq’s medical system is a problem for citizens both young and old, and as the film progresses to a specific focus on The Medicins Sans Frotnieres/Doctors Without Borders organization, one can see the true crisis of the children. Front and center, The Medicins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders is shown aiding many children who have been separated from their parents and are now in treatment for burns, severe dismembering, body injuries, etc. Often the work needed for repair is so extensive that several operations are needed before a child is restored to normal, if ever.
The film’s shocking yet educational look at life outside of the United State’s seemingly ivy covered walls is of a magnitude that cannot be ignored. Ms. Obaid-Chinoy’s dedication and vision on this topic is unparalleled, and worthy of not only praise, but of all of our attention. For more information please visit MSF.org
***-nearly one and a half million refugees have been taken in by Syria and Jordan.
On a recent Saturday evening West Chelsea’s Gana Art Gallery hosted a most powerful documentary on the plight of children in Iraq. Entitled Iraq The Lost Generation, the event is to benefit the non-profit Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders. Journalist Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s The Lost Generation, currently being screened across the country from New York to San Francisco, is a riveting look at the results of war on the citizens of Iraq and in particular its children. Many casualties are children who are victims of bombings, instances with machetes and the like. The event which was sponsored by Zyr Vodka, Jo Malone, and Vai Restaurant was hosted by Justin Parks, Founder of the SCOTT PARKS ORGANIZATION, who came across the film this past summer and was drawn to share the film with others “In August I attended a screening at the New School. I was shocked and deeply saddened by the Iraqi refugee medial crisis, in particular the children that have been injured in the bombings that have to wait for reconstructive treatments. I felt compelled to sponsor a benefit screening so we could send funds to accelerate the heroic efforts of MSF.”
Beginning with the stories of Iraqi refugees *** who migrated to Syria and Jordan, Ms. Obaid Chinoy provides a first-hand account of their struggles. Ms. Obaid-Chinoy speaks first with adults–mostly middle class families whose head of households are much like those in the US. One man owns a mobile phone store, another a father of five owns several barber shops, and yet another holds a government position working with the US and the British as a translator. In each instance there is a current inability to work as they are now all refugees in new lands.